Why is it in the news?
- The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a directive mandating all Food Business Operators (FBOs) to remove any claim of ‘100% fruit juice’ from the labels and advertisements of reconstituted fruit juices with immediate effect. All the FBOs have also been instructed to exhaust all existing pre-printed packaging materials before September 1.
| About Food Safety and Standards Authority of India:
· This is an autonomous statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006. · This Act consolidates various food-related laws, aiming to streamline regulations and establish a single reference point for food safety matters. · FSSAI operates under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and is tasked with regulating and supervising food safety and quality nationwide. · With headquarters in New Delhi and regional offices in eight zones, FSSAI is led by a chairperson, appointed by the central government, who holds the rank of Secretary to the Government of India. |
More about the news:
- FSSAI said that several FBOs have been inaccurately marketing various types of reconstituted fruit juices by claiming them to be 100 per cent fruit juices.
- Upon thorough examination, FSSAI has concluded that, according to the Food Safety and Standards (Advertising and Claims) Regulations, 2018, there is no provision for making a ‘100 per cent’ claim.
- Such claims are misleading, particularly under conditions where the major ingredient of the fruit juice is water and the primary ingredient, for which the claim is made, is present only in limited concentrations, or when the fruit juice is reconstituted using water and fruit concentrates or pulp, FSSAI said.
- FBOs have been told to comply with the standards for fruit juices as specified under sub-regulation 2.3.6 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards & Food Additives) Regulation, 2011.
- This regulation states that products covered by this standard must be labelled in accordance with the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.
- Specifically, in the ingredient list, the word “reconstituted” must be mentioned against the name of the juice that is reconstituted from the concentrate.
- Additionally, if added nutritive sweeteners exceed 15 gm/kg, the product must be labelled as ‘sweetened juice’.
- All the FBOs have also been instructed to exhaust all existing pre-printed packaging materials before September 1, 2024.
